‘An Act of God’ is a show of irreverence

Howard Karren

Sunday

Jul 29, 2018 at 11:23 PMAug 1, 2018 at 6:27 PM

The genesis of “An Act of God” began with “The Last Testament: A Memoir by God, with David Javerbaum.” The 2011 book was 464 pages — almost as weighty as the Bible, though not nearly as serious — and Javerbaum, a Harvard (and Harvard Lampoon) alum, a writer for David Letterman and The Onion and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and winner of more Emmys and other awards than you-know-who, didn’t just rest on his laurels. He turned the book into a Broadway show, a sort of 90-minute monologue and extended TV comedy sketch, which premiered in 2015 at Studio 54 with Jim Parsons (of “The Big Bang Theory” fame) as God in the body of a tall gay man, and archangels Gabriel and Michael as sidekicks, and ran for one summer. Then it returned to Broadway’s Booth Theatre the following year, with Sean Hayes (of “Will & Grace” fame) as God in the body of a less tall gay man, and ran for a second summer. At that point, Javerbaum saw that it was good, and he rested.

Now, brethren, “An Act of God” has arrived at the venerable Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, with God in the body of an African-American woman, that of the eminently persuasive Lynnette R. Freeman, and Alexandra Lemus and David Meyers as the archangels Gabriel and Michael, respectively, through Aug. 17. God, it seems, is still in a feisty mood. She’s tired of Her name being used to bless America and every person who sneezes. She’s fed up with Jesus being such a wimp (indeed, She uses a much harsher word). She’s tired of people taking her writings as an excuse to kill others (She can do that well enough herself, thank you) and to judge others, particularly LGBT people, Muslims and Jews, and racial minorities. She’s kind of sick of mankind in its entirety, to be honest. And so She has developed 10 new commandments (really eight, since two are holdovers) and turned WHAT’s Julie Harris Stage into a combination game show-talk variety show set (with slickly neoclassical décor, designed by Ellen Rousseau), in which She explains each “thou shalt,” takes (pre-written) questions from the audience, and basically makes mincemeat of everyone and everything, as is Her wont.

The bulk of the show’s success rests on Freeman’s shoulders, and she handles herself with heavenly grace. To rework the idiom, she suffers fools gladly. Freeman arrives without a star persona à la Parsons or Hayes to draw on, and she creates a playfully imperious atmosphere that she controls without pause. She is awe-inspiring. As archangels, Lemus and Meyers are the farcical background vocals to Freeman’s lead, and they are selflessly amusing. Javerbaum’s writing is dense with cleverness — blink and you’ll miss a bit — and the play itself is largely unstructured, except for those numbered commandments. Director Daisy Walker does a fine job of keeping things moving, but when it comes to the piece’s TV sketch-style humor: you either get it or you don’t.

With that as a given, “An Act of God” is clearly not intended for the devout. Or at least the devout with doubts — since the truly faithful, or brainwashed, depending on your point of view, would be invulnerable to its blasphemous assaults. Though most of the cheery audience at the preview this reviewer attended were frequently and loudly laughing, a few folks were espied with grim looks on their faces. In the tradition of spiritual send-ups such as “The Book of Mormon,” “An Act of God” satirizes religious practice and belief without much regard to spiritual sensitivities, though it’s underlying message is profoundly humanist: that people take responsibility for their own lives and good behavior. That should certainly appeal to theatergoers in the Outer Cape and at WHAT, specifically, and everyone else should just forgive them their trespasses. If evangelicals can support Trump and overlook an avalanche of amorality, than the rest of us secular types can enjoy our profane humor with impunity. May “An Act of God” live long and prosper.